NYC - December 2016

NYC during the holidays always sounded magical so when our friends who live in NYC were going to be away for the holidays and offered us their vacant apartment, we happily obliged. NYC is within driving distance from us so we packed up on a Thursday night and headed out. The girls were great on the drive and settled into bed once we arrived.

On Friday we got up and headed straight to Macy's department store on 34th street to visit Santa in his wonderland. We wore every piece of clothing because it was freeeeeeezing! But these two happy faces made it all worth it :)

Heart melter!

After walking through the winter wonderland we made our way to the real deal, the big guy himself! Jayne was a little timid but did alright. Little Elle was scared, but let Phil step away briefly for a photo.

The Christmas shop area was beautifully decorated as well. Jayne loved all the snowflakes. She and Elle just danced around on the red carpet, in pure Christmas bliss.

Next we made our way to Times Square, chasing birds along the way :)

The Disney store was the perfect place to get inside, explore and warm up. Needless to say, our little princess was in heaven!

As a reward for being such a happy trooper in the freezing cold, Jayne got her very own bag of "PINK!" m&m's at the M&M store.

After naptime and dinner at home we headed back out to see Rockefeller Center in all its holiday glory.

The next day we headed out (in the falling snow!) to the financial district. The 9/11 memorial pools are beautiful and sobering.

Our September 11th baby

We visited Eataly (and happened upon the besssssst hot chocolate ever!) and then got our frozen-selves back inside for the night. We went to church the next morning and then headed home from our quick NYC trip. Until next time NYC!

NYC 2014 - Day 4

Our final day in NYC started off at none other than Shake Shack. :) 

We actually met Phil's work friend from Australia there, who just happened to be in NYC as well. Perfect timing!

Then it was off to see Grand Central Station. I particularly loved this. I love history and culture and this building had it all. Such a cool place to see in real life. 

From there we made our way to Battery Park to catch the ferry to Liberty Island for the afternoon. Its near the financial district so we stopped in Wall Street for a pic with the Charging Bull

 

And enjoyed the great views of the One World Tower.

After quite the process (lines, security, etc.) we were on our way to see Lady Liberty. 

Like I said, I love history & culture. I love thinking about and picturing how life was "back then"...so Liberty Island was right up my alley.

You arrive facing the back of the statue...

...but with a fantastic view of the city

Ellis Island

 We listened to the audio tour here and there (between feeding Jayne goldfish and people watching) while we made our way around to the front of the statue.

And guys, she is amazing! Honestly, one of my favorite parts of our trip. I just felt so grateful for freedom, opportunity and America while looking up at her.

She overlooks the harbor and the city just across the way

After spending the afternoon standing in awe and just taking in the beauty of Liberty Island, we got some (amazing) fresh lemonade and hopped back on the ferry to the city.

We took it easy for a bit back at Michelle & Clark's place to recover. Trekking NYC in the summer is tiring stuff! We put Jayne to bed and then headed out for one last hurrah in NYC.

^^With our Juliana's pizza in tow (you must eat at Juliana's if you're in NYC), Phil & I hung out on the Brooklyn Pier. Its the perfect place to just sit and take in the beautiful city at night. 

How can you not love NYC? Its stunning.

And that's a wrap. We loved our time in NYC. We saw a lot, ate a lot, spent time together a lot and had A LOT of fun! I want to go back already! Until next time NYC!

NYC 2014 - Day 3

We started off our day in the city around lunch time. We visited the Lego store at Rockefeller Center first. They had any lego set you can imagine-plus a serve-yourself area where you can get any amount of any brick in any color. It was quite the store!

(lego version of Rockefeller)

Phil is my lover of Legos-he likes to put things together and solve puzzles. We had fun looking around the store.

We had "plans" to go to Shake Shack again for lunch as we'd both been craving it. Phil had the directions and we meandered through the streets following his lead. We eventually came upon a building the Phil pointed out. He said, "Hey, isn't that the London Hotel where Gordon Ramsay's restaurant is?" We'd talked about his restaurants prior to coming...I love Ramsay and Phil and I both love Masterchef, but decided it was too pricey for us. I pointed to the window that said Maze on it (name of restaurant) and said yep, cool! and expected to keep walking.

Phil suggested we go in and have a look. I declined as I didn't want to feel like peeping toms...but he persisted. I followed him into the hotel lobby and peeked in...but Phil just kept walking right on in to the restaurant! Despite my protests, he walked right up the desk and turned to tell me, we had a reservation for 12:30. I was shocked and so happy! I love Gordon Ramsay and fancy food is so fun to enjoy. My hubs surprised me. He got me good!! We ate our delicious 3-course lunch together at Maze while Jayne slumbered by our feet in the backpack carrier. It was perfect and the food was absolutely amazing. My mouth waters just thinking about it...Thanks Phil!

After lunch we made our way to Clark's work on 8th street. This neighborhood was awesome to explore. It looked just how all the movies portray living in NYC. Phil was privileged enough to get a cut from the best of the best, Clark. NYC does haircuts right. Thanks Clark!

After the haircut we hit the High Line which is the old railway on the edge of NYC. They've redesigned it and planted greenery every where to make for a beautiful, scenic walk that provided amazing views of the Hudson River.

We finished our High Line walk and then made our way towards Eataly for some dinner.

We stopped by La Maison du Macaron for some famous Macarons. MmmmMmm

We got some pizza at Eataly and enjoyed the views while we chowed down. We ate right outside the flat iron building...its famous for its shape and height in that part of Manhattan. 

And to the other side of us was the Empire State Building. Loved just sitting and eating in the city!

By then our feet were screaming and we decided to call it a night. Phew! Thanks Michelle for the tour of 5th Ave (and area) and NYC for the amazing views and good eats!